Dorm proposed for downtown Schenectady

The United Group of Companies would be the developer of a $11.6 million dorm proposed for lower State Street in Schenectady. The building, which would be privately owned and managed, would be at 117 Washington Ave. (map), next to the Schenectady County Community College campus, and is expected to include 264 beds.

The project would be another boost for downtown Schenectady, adding after-hours life to its streets. BBL Construction Services of Albany would build the 112,000-square-foot building, reports Scott Waldman in today’s TU.

Troy-based United Group is also developing of another area just-off-campus project — the CityStation development under way near RPI in Troy. That project, too, includes dorms, but is planned as part of a much broader development that could includes national retail, a movie theater and more. Renderings from United and construction photos in the gallery below.

Still no national retail for Downtown Schenectady? Ray Gillen’s been promising that for years. Waiting for the first. Lower State Street still looks terrible. SCCC needs to upgrade its course offerings not build dorms.

Limestone and hand laid brick? Kidding right? That cost money and these are dorm buildings not high end residences. Speaking of hand laid brick and limestone try finding a good stone mason. I hired a mason for my brick building in troy, and he did a marginal job, and he was a union worker. Yikes…hand laid. The only think you’re getting hand laid is the money that you lay out for marginal work.

It’s really difficult to watch all of these bland cookie cutter buildings be put up by developers. Architects and architecture, possibly even good design, are becoming obsolete in this economy, especially in the Capital District. It’s very discouraging.

I think it’s a bit much to expect a Community College funded largely by the taxpayers to be building dorms to the same architectural standards as the builders of the great structures in history. It’s a dorm, not the Taj Mahal or Westminster Abbey.
I’d rather not see my tax dollars to fo limestone and brick and a fancy architectural firm.